


Persona- Prologue to By Design

by marvelousmsmol



Series: By Design [1]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Gen, Prologue, prior to the start of by design
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-25
Updated: 2020-08-25
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:08:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26107714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marvelousmsmol/pseuds/marvelousmsmol
Summary: Adrien Agreste has spent his childhood dedicated to making his father proud through his hard work and perfect appearance, but when he no longer agrees with the way the world has come to view him he's going to have a decision to make.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Series: By Design [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1895581
Comments: 4
Kudos: 68





	Persona- Prologue to By Design

The fact of the matter was that Adrien could not go a single block in Paris without seeing his face plastered somewhere on a billboard or poster. No matter where he turned, he always found his own face staring back at him. Every single picture would be the same: head tilt, hip popped, mouth smirking, and eyes alluring. Adrien was of the opinion that he hadn’t grown into his new concept very well. Since turning seventeen he’d become more teenage heartthrob than an innocent angel. The sultry looks, while going as suggestive as was tasteful for his age, didn’t feel at all like him. Adrien could make the exact same smirk in the mirror but it never matched.

A poster he hated, in particular, was posted right outside his destination, portentously welcoming him inside and telling him to leave himself and his own thoughts at the door. Adrien put on the clothes he was given, let them style his hair until it was at a standard of perfection that was unachievable without a team of people, and cover every blemish on his face. He turned into that person he didn’t recognize right before his very eyes. 

It wasn’t very often that Adrien was dragged to an event other than a Gabriel runway show, but this was the one time his father had lent him on a job other than modeling, and his cameo in a new movie had earned him a ticket to the premiere. He’d already been briefed extensively on what was expected of him, and it wasn’t surprising that in order to achieve the affect they were going for with their publicity stunts that he was wearing the outfit from the exact ad that he hated. The only difference was that they had changed out the shirt that was missing it’s top five buttons for no reason, and the trade-off was a tight, high neck shirt that felt as though it was fusing with his skin. 

“I thought I told my father that I didn’t want to wear this again,” Adrien said, noticing Natalie had entered the room as he looked himself up and down in the mirror. 

“It plays well,” Natalie said without even looking up from her tablet. “People like to see you in it. You’ll make a “best dressed” list, giving us additional publicity in addition to your cameo in the film.”

“Is that father’s excuse,” Adrien said. He didn’t know why tonight was different. Why tonight he was voicing his concerns about what he was forced to wear, how it made him uncomfortable. It certainly didn’t feel like a straw had broken his back, but maybe was just tired, tired from the control and tired from the long hours working. 

Natalie raised her eyebrow and didn’t respond to the question further. “Your car is waiting for you outside.”  
Adrien slipped his phone into his pocket and walked out without another word. 

The sight of flashing cameras made him start to sweat before he was stuck under the lights. He could see the cracks in other’s smiles from behind the tinted window, and his father’s voice echoed in his mind.  _ “Smirk, don’t smile. You’re above everyone else there, so you’re not happy. Just satisfied.”  _

Adrien wasn’t sure he even knew what looking satisfied with his life looked like. During that conversation, he’d wanted to say something about how being above everyone else seemed like a lonely thing to him, and who could ever be satisfied while being lonely? 

But, Adrien plastered the smirk to his expression before the car door was even opened for him. The cheers for him was the only thing that served to tell him he was executing the look correctly. The fact that people screamed they loved him guaranteed his success. The people would put him up on a pedestal tonight, and it would keep him safe and out of the way of his father’s criticism for a short while. 

About halfway down the red carpet, Adrien slipped behind one of the curtains, letting out a deep breath as he dropped the smirk from his face. 

“This hiding place is taken. Find your own.” Adrien jumped at the voice and turned to see Marina Morelli, another one of the models from his father’s company, standing there with a cigarette between her fingers. He made a move to go back out, but her serious expression dropped in a split second and a smile appeared on her face. “Kidding. You want one?”

“Think I’m still a little young to be smoking,” Adrien said, holding his hand up as she tried to hand him one.

“Eh, you’ll get there,” Marina said, shrugging as she brought the cigarette back to her lips. “So, why are you hiding?”

Adrien shrugged, looking at the floor. “I just needed a minute to myself. You?”

“They already have enough shiny things out there to look at,” Marina said. Adrien felt a little nervous as she looked him up and down, a frown forming on her face as she stared at her own dress. “Looks like Agreste dressed us to almost be a matching set. That, or they don’t have any creativity anymore and are still charging the same prices for this.”

“I think you look good in it,” Adrien said. 

“Hmm,” Marina hummed as she inspected her clothes once again. “It’s shit. You should find your way out of here, juene Agreste. While you still can.”

Adrien shook his head and started to head back out to the crowd once again, but Marina’s voice stopped him. 

“Though I suppose, you’re trapped here like the rest of us,” Marina said. “At least, until he tosses us aside.”

“I am not trapped,” Adrien said, turning his head towards her with a glare. 

He let the curtain fall back as he exited the hidden space, the smell of Marina’s smoke still lingering. He paused for a moment, still facing away from the cameras, ready to turn back into the same sultry pretty boy as before. The look, those feelings wouldn’t appear with him on command as they did. Adrien felt burnt out, all of the sudden, and only because of a few small words from a model who had spaced out of pretty much everything long ago. 

It didn’t take long for his rising anger to disperse and for a weight to lift off of him because Adrien knew he didn’t want to burn brightly to the point where he was burned out. He didn’t want the flashing of the cameras to light him on fire until there was nothing but ashes left of him. 

Adrien especially didn’t want that to happen while he was pretending to be someone he wasn’t. He would refuse to be trapped because there would always be a way out, and he wouldn’t let this world, let alone his own father, destroy him like so many others.

Facing the crowds, Adrien couldn’t help but let the carefree smile appear. The smile he gave the cameras was one of farewell. He was escaping from them now. Adrien waved to them as he headed in the opposite direction of the rest of his well-dressed peers. He was sure in the morning the papers might report his untimely death for walking out of the event at the risk of facing the wrath of Gabriel Agreste. 

Whether he would end up free after today or chained down, he still felt more like himself than ever. 


End file.
